Hall has finally come to grips with what was wrong in his game:

“When you do something and you keep making mistakes, when it clicks you're like, ‘I get it!’ I get it now. I get what I have to do when I get in the ring. I get that I can’t let certain things inside. I get that I have to destroy the person in front of me. I get it. It's finally clicked. And the best thing to do is show it.” (PHOTO CREDIT: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Hall admits he took the wrong approach against Howard:

“What happened was I literally felt like a wrestler. Like a ground guy. That's why I'm out here in Portland to get that back. For me, I was always told to look at your weakness and make it your strength and I focused so much on my weakness that I forgot about what I was good at. One of my buddies brought to my attention that I was trying to recreate something that I'm not and that's exactly what I was trying to do. In my mind, I was saying that I'm a complete fighter, but I was forgetting what my bread and butter is. I'm not one to make mistakes, but when I do I learn from them, move forward, and get better.” (PHOTO CREDIT: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports)

How has training with Chael Sonnen helped him?

“He's just been so phenomenal in elevating my game. I have a real funky style and not everyone can really take it and put something on it. I have people either trying to change my style or make it feel weird. He's been spectacular in that sense of helping me elevate. As a coach, you need not only the physical, but the mental side. He's been helping me with that. I decided to come out to Portland because I know working on the show with him was great and being in this environment it's so freaking peaceful out here. It's pretty much like being in the house again. Just hanging out with him and living with him and him being on top of everything, we're doing some old school Rocky training and I couldn't ask for anything better. I'm excited to have him in my corner.” (PHOTO CREDIT: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

How excited is he about battling Leben?

“I know Chris is going to come forward and I know he's been saying that. Only thing I can say is, 'Come at me, bro.' (Laughs) I don't think I could ask for better target practice than that. You come forward and you don't move your head, that's perfect. As far as pressuring me, he doesn't know me, he hasn't fought me before. I know I'm fast and he's going to have to catch me. Even if he catches me, I am going to hit him. I can hit him from anywhere. I can just pop him with everything I got. I want him to come at me; I'm looking forward to that. When he said that, I was like, 'Perfect!'” (PHOTO CREDIT: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)

What would a win over Leben mean to him?

“It would just shut everybody up. And get me back on that ladder. It's just a ladder. You fall off it and you get back up. The losses will make you appreciate the wins more - it's just a growing experience. I don't like being caught up in all the BS, and it's just that - BS. There have been people who have been through this in life, who have been through this storm, and it's all about perseverance and not allowing that stuff to get to you. For me, I was just sensitive in that area. I'm learning. I'm a sponge and I'm learning and I get it. It was a problem and I'm fixing it. I'm in the best shape of my life, my head is exactly where it needs to be, and all I need to do is pretty much give the beating of the year. And that will shut everyone up.” (PHOTO CREDIT: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports)

Hall has a guarantee for fans:

“Expect Uriah to show up, that's all I'm saying. I remember calling (UFC President) Dana (White) the next day after that loss and saying, ‘I got it. I know what I got to do and I'm fixing it.’ I'm going to be ready to show up; I didn't show up for the last couple fights. I'm showing up.” (PHOTO CREDIT: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

UFC middleweight Uriah Hall (7-4) looked like a star in the making during his run to the Ultimate Fighter 17 final against Kelvin Gastelum. However, he lacked the spark he showed on TUF 17 during their scrap and lost a Split Decision. In his follow-up fight against John Howard he looked similarly stumped and once again fell on the scorecards. However, when he locks horns with Chris Leben (22-10) at UFC 168, Hall has guaranteed fans will see a different fighter resembling the one they became accustomed to on the reality show rather than the fish-out-of-water from his last two tilts. The 29-year old recently spoke to UFC.com about what has changed and why he looks forward to facing an aggressive opponent like Leben.